Tour de Armstrong - Or how they still think it'll be a clean tour.

[PDH]

I like Millar.  He 'fessed up to cheating, came back clean, gets tested all the time for team Garmin, and has shown he races for his love of racing.

[lustindarkness]

Yes, very exciting with plenty of drama and good racing.

[Liep]

This has been the most exciting first week of the tour I can remember watching for years, perhaps ever.

Congratulations Thor!

[Oexmelin]

There is a small flaw in France's evil plan to tarnish the legacy of Austin's greatest: A Frenchman wasn't going to win any of those races anyway.  The only dude whose career got screwed by Lance was Jan Ulrich.

The Tour de France is rapidly becoming France's Wimbledon.

If you get to France during the Tour, you'll see that it is one of the few sports where the population is rooting for the sport rather than the nationality (at least in my experience). Armstrong - thanks to his history - started out a big favourite of the population. It took the equiries of L'Équipe to turn the tide. And now a new book just came out (Le sale Tour) that adds yet other suspicions of tricky behaviour by Armstrong.

[Ed Anger]

Never trust a Texan.

[DGuller]

What's the latest dirt on Armstrong?

[Liep]

What's the latest dirt on Armstrong?

The Spaniards hate him because he badmouthed Sastre's victory last year, and because he's too much of a threat to his captain, Contador.

[lustindarkness]

Yesterday was a rough stage with the rain and crashes, and today the real tour starts. Should be fun.

[Liep]

The French might even see Pineau in the yellow jersey, iirc he's not half bad in the mountains. I wonder how many of the 12 minutes the escape will lose on the climb.

[Liep]

I'm a little disappointed by the devolpment. It's surprising that the first mountain stage has actually been less exciting than the flat stages.

[Liep]

The only one who seemed like he could actually follow Contador was Armstrong. Astana, christ.

[PDH]

The only one who seemed like he could actually follow Contador was Armstrong. Astana, christ.

Contador, Armstrong, Kloden, Popo for a domestique...they are stacked like a silicon hooker.

[Liep]

Also, what the hell is Wiggins doing with the favorite group? Are we suppose to believe that a Brit can cycle uphill?

[Liep]

Interesting stage today, Evans tried and failed, Schleck tried and failed. Though surprisingly many were able to follow Andy when he attacked, Wiggins, Martin, Vande Velde, the entire team Astana.

[PDH]

I think Andy Schleck will be able to drop all the semi-contenders in the Alps.  Armstrong looks pretty good (yesterday he could have attacked, but you don't attack your own teammate).  Contador still looks the best to me, especially with Astana having Leipheimer and Kloden as lead-out men...